Government proposals to stop doctors retiring early fall short, says BMA

As reported by the British Medical Association, the measures will neither prevent doctors retiring early or having to reduce their working hours because of punitive pension tax charges

The proposals to reform doctors’ pensions announced by the government on 22 September would ‘only offer sticking plasters’ to the challenge of stemming the flow of senior doctors from the NHS, the BMA has warned

Announced by the new health and social care secretary and deputy prime minister Thérèse Coffey, the proposals were unveiled as part of a package of measures to improve care for NHS patients this winter and next in a report Our Plan for Patients.

In line with her ‘ABCD priority list’ (A=ambulances, B=backlogs, C=care, and D=doctors and dentists), pensions fell under the workstream to support doctors. They were mentioned eight times in her accompanying plan report, referencing changing pension rules to retain experienced NHS staff and removing barriers to staff returning from retirement.

In a statement to the House of Commons she said, “We know that people are leaving the workforce for a variety of reasons. We have listened, and we are responding and addressing a number of those reasons. Pension rules can currently be a disincentive for clinicians who want to stay in the profession or to return from retirement and help our national endeavour. We will correct pension rules.”